In 2006, The Whitefish Theatre Company (WTC) set up a permanent Endowment Fund with the Whitefish Community Foundation to create a reliable, long-term funding source to manage the costs of running and maintaining the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Cultural Arts Center building. With increasing demand on the Cultural Center each year, WTC staff and board of directors recently recommitted to a five-year endowment campaign to grow the endowment fund to $250,000 by 2021.
On average, WTC spends approximately $35,000 per year in direct costs to manage the Center, including maintenance, repairs, cleaning, supplies, utilities, and a part-time facility manager. In addition, WTC spends nearly $20,000 in indirect administrative costs that include ordering supplies, paying bills, overseeing repairs, and managing rentals of the facility.
WTC has committed to raise another $200,000 by 2021. As part of the five-year endowment campaign, WTC recently secured a grant of $50,000 from the I.A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation and secured an Endowment Challenge Grant from the Whitefish Community Foundation for $5,000. To-date, WTC’s endowment fund stands at just over $112,000.
All WTC staff and Board of Directors are committed to reaching this goal and will be involved in its implementation. WTC plans to release featured articles explaining how endowment growth will provide a reliable income source to cover O’Shaughnessy Center operating expenses, thereby releasing other fundraising dollars for new and innovative arts programming.
Donations to the Whitefish Theatre Company’s Endowment Fund can be made to the Whitefish Community Foundation, designated to the WTC Endowment Fund.